Could somebody explain memory speed?

Miscellaneous Forums/General Discussion/Could somebody explain memory speed?

I've got 2 sticks of 512Mb RAM that are DDR 400Mhz (at least it says so on the sticker!). Hwinfo32 reports them as 200Mhz (PC 3200). Is this normal?

I've just got a new MB and CPU (dual core), and there's a bunch of overclock options in the BIOS, but I have to admit I don't know what half of them do ;) Never been much of an 'overclocker', but I need this system to run as fast as possible as its primary function is as a DAW (digital audio workstation).

The combination of MB and CPU that I got is capable of being ramped to 4Ghz per core, and I've read that others have managed this speed. This is where I start getting confused : the option to set the DRAM to 400Mhz doesn't even appear unless the 'CPU External Frequency' is set to 200Mhz (default is 133Mhz). I'm thinking that this is why the RAM is not running at full speed, but I haven't managed to get the PC to boot at this setting. There are also settings for CPU Voltage, DDR Voltage, and AGP voltage/freq, but I'm hesitant to change these until I know what I'm doing.

I have a whole bunch of extra fans in the case so I'm prepared for the heat increase.

So does anybody know? All help is appreciated as always :)

Basically:

DDR=Double Data Rate. the memory receives a clock speed of 200mhz and it can act twice per click, so an effective speed of 400mhz.

200mhz=full speed.

DONT try to up it to 400mhz or you will fry your sticks!

I thought that might be the case. Thanks.